The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Steering box rebuilding

How invoveled is it to rebuild a steering box? I have a '51 GMC 1/2 ton. Any special tools needed?

Do you have a book on steering box rebuilding?

Craig,
I have the Maintenance Manual. I read the section about adjusting and rebuilding this AM. It looks pretty straight forward. It also talks about doing some adjustments which I am going to give a shot.
Any advice from anyone who has done the adjustments??

Thomas,
Rebuilt the steering box in my 37, 1 1/2 ton truck a couple of weeks ago- it was pretty straight forward. I bought a fish weighing scale from k-mart and used that for my adjustment-it work out great... follow the shop manual and you won't have a problem!
Gary

thomas,

Last year, I was preparing to do a rebuild (Chevy Duty parts kit) and decided to first do the adjustments. The adjustment did such a nice job that I am holding off on the rebuild.

You will need a spring-tension tool. Go to Walmart and get a $2 fish scale - it does the trick.

Tim

Thanks for all this good info. Now one more question, What kind of lube? This seems to be a topic of great debate.

The original lube was very thick, and is no longer available from GM. I think the thicker stuff makes it less likely to leak from the seal around the sector shaft. But some folks use SAE 90 gear lube, and I guess do ok. I used Penrite steering box lube. Very expensive, and no leaks AFTER I installed a GM seal on the sector shaft. The one in the rebuild kit was garbage. Others use STP, I wonder if they had good results?

I use the Penrite Steering Lube ,, it's the only one that stays in the box , LOL .

There are a few things that can be worn, but the most involved would be the bushings, especially the bushing in the sector cover. The GMC shop manual talks about replacing it and align boring it but the Chev manual advises to buy a new cover with the bushing in it. Not all the kits supply the correct bushing for the cover but the proper method is to bore the new bushing using the other bushing and housing for alignment. Also removing the old one is tricky because it is a blind hole.

Brian,
what was wrong with the seal in the kit. I replaced mine so I would like to know if I used an inferior part.

I originally used the seal that came with the rebuild kit. It leaked. I got a seal from GM, and installed it, no leaks. The GM seal looked higher quality to me also. But if your seal from your rebuild kit does not leak, you have no problem I would say. It may have been a poor installation on my part to cause the leak, I do not know, but it looked ok after installation, just a significant leak of my penrite lube.

The info has really helped. Brian, I ordered the GM seal yesterday at my local GM dealer.Now another question. I was looking at a catalog and they show "Steering Box Inner Gear Ball Bearings". At $.75 each x 60!!. Have you guys had to replace these?

I saw the same price. My ball bearings looked ok to me, so I just reinstalled them. I could not see spending $45 on something that really was not broken.

Check your local Yellow Pages for bearing dealers. Here in Kansas City we have a few of them. The "balls" are a standard size 9/32", so getting them from a wholesaler is the way to go. I replaced the ones in a '46 gear box for 5 cents each! Thats 70 of them for $3.95 . Also, bushings were $1.14 to $2.26, seal #11055 was $4.19. I tried to use 140 weight gear oil but it leaked throught the threads of the adjusting screws. My '37 box was full of a light weight grease I got from NAPA. It was just a normal grease for a grease gun. It works OK and no leaks. Joe

Ok, Ihave disaaembled my steering box and cleaned it. I have a question about the bearing on the bottom end of the steering column shaft.The bearing is retained by a piece that looks to be riveted or something to the steering column shaft. Before I attack this and make a mistake how does it come off? Also the bearing race in the "screw" cap on the bottom of the box. Is this replaceable?

Just drill out the rivet head and pry off that steel flange. It was just an assembly aid at the factory. It's not necessary for the rebuild.